The billionaire activist investor who went on Twitter rants about Shark Tank is back in the tank tonight, having learned a lot about the ABC reality show he once dismissed. Before going on the show, Sacca wrote a blog post about how his feelings shifted from thinking the show was “a dime-store version of my current job”—he… continue reading
A Shark Tank star, inspired by Trump, may enter Canadian politics
Shark Tank and Dragon’s Den star Kevin O’Leary, who calls himself Mr. Wonderful, is considering running for political office in Canada—and says he was inspired by former Apprentice star Donald Trump’s campaign for president of the United States.
Three of Shark Tank’s sharks are dyslexic
Shark Tank stars Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, and Kevin O’Leary all have dyslexia, and say it has helped them be better entrepreneurs. This is the first time I’ve heard this, though a search revealed that the sharks have discussed this before and it isn’t exactly a secret. For example, last year, Barbara talked to Entrepreneur, which reported that she “only… continue reading
Teen arrested, suspended for invention wants to be on Shark Tank
Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old who was arrested and suspended from school because his homemade clock was viewed as a threat, will visit The White House at the invitation of President Obama in October, and he also wants to go on Shark Tank. A clock he built to show his engineering teacher freaked out another teacher, who… continue reading
Three guest sharks on Shark Tank this season
ABC just announced that Shark Tank will have three guest investors on the panel this season: Ashton Kutcher, Chris Sacca, and Troy Carter. The series returns Sept. 25. Kutcher is the most recognizable, of course, but besides acting, he’s invested in tech companies such as Airbnb and Shazam. Sacca is a well-known billionaire tech investor… continue reading
ABC cancels The Taste, renews Shark Tank spin-off
After three seasons, ABC has cancelled the Anthony Bourdain-hosted food competition series The Taste. After just one episode, ABC has renewed its Shark Tank spin-off Beyond the Tank. The network has also renewed The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, and Shark Tank, as was to be expected. The renewal for Beyond the Tank is perhaps… continue reading
The new spin-off Beyond the Tank is too much like Shark Tank
If the updates on Shark Tank are your favorite part, you’ll love Beyond the Tank, the spin-off announced last fall. The first of three episodes premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET in Shark Tank‘s usual timeslot. If the show does well, it could return in the fall. The first episode, at least, doesn’t really feel like… continue reading
Sony’s “begging” brought Burnett to Shark Tank, e-mail reveals
All the e-mail messages from the Sony hack late last year have been published by WikiLeaks, and among those are messages that reveal more about the origins of Shark Tank than have previously been reported. When Sony approached executive producer Mark Burnett about producing a show for them, e-mail says they did so without concern… continue reading
What John Oliver missed about patent trolls and Shark Tank
John Oliver’s central story on Last Week Tonight was about patent trolls and how problematic they’ve become. As with all the feature stories on the HBO series, it made a compelling argument using both humor and evidence. The segment opened with a montage of clips showing several of Shark Tank‘s stars expressing concern about an… continue reading
Make deal on Shark Tank, back out, profit
That some entrepreneurs go on Shark Tank for the publicity, not a deal, is not a surprise. The sharks even call some people out on that, like those who insanely overvalue their companies or ask for way too much money, ensuring they don’t get a deal. But while as many as half of all deals fall apart during due… continue reading
Shark Tank fight: Lori Greiner’s early offer angers sharks
Tonight’s Shark Tank was as epic as promised, and though it took placeand took place after a pitch ended. The fight wasn’t over actual offers, but over Lori Greiner–and then Daymond John–making an offer so early in the pitch, preventing the other sharks from being able to ask questions. It was one of those annoying “make… continue reading
Shark Tank successes and failures: the raw data
An analysis of all 432 pitches from six seasons of Shark Tank has revealed demographic information about the entrepreneurs who pitch the sharks. The show’s success rate is pretty consistent across the board, ranging from about 40 to 60 percent, with some outliers. Shark Tank successes The ABC reality competition is in the middle of… continue reading
Ugly Christmas sweaters will make $8 million because of Shark Tank
Shark Tank introduced a new shark last night, GoPro founder and billionaire Nick Woodman, the best new addition since Mark Cuban, and also featured a contentious, emotional pitch over a product called Kitchen Safe. But it was an update in the middle of the show that was the most surprising. The founders of Tipsy Elves, a company… continue reading
Best Shark Tank strategy: “We’re going to pass on that question”
Last week’s Shark Tank ended with the start of a pitch from Jimmy Kimmel and his sidekick Guillermo for their horse pants business/concept. The conclusion aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week, and it ended up being a funny stunt rather than just annoying cross-promotion because their pitch mocked other bad pitches. Actually, their… continue reading
Shark Tank returns with an outrageous gag reel
Tonight is the return of ABC’s Shark Tank, which recently won a well-deserved Emmy and continues to be one of the best broadcast network reality shows. The show has been expanded to two hours for its premiere and thus will face off against another long-time Emmy-winner, The Amazing Race, which moves to Fridays at 8… continue reading